Petrified Forest National Park was the one I found the most awe-inspiring. National Parks Traveler 2019-2020 Annual Report, 2nd Annual Threatened And Endangered Parks, secreted pieces of petrified wood out of the park, State Of The Park: Yellowstone National Park, Your National Park Vacation Has Gotten More Expensive, Autopsy Could Tell Whether Bear Killed Great Smoky Mountains Backpacker Last Fall, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Officials Awaiting Autopsy Results, UPDATE | California Coastal Commission Staff Concerned About Point Reyes' Ag Plan. Some of them eventually mail this stolen material back to the park, accompanied by ‘conscience letters.’ The content of each letter … National Parks Traveler is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit media organization. Petrified wood that has been mineralized into rocks for millions of years is the main attraction, bringing in visitors from all around the world. “Of course, the park wasn’t necessarily saying this is true, or that there’s some kind of curse, but inadvertently by showing these letters, they were reinforcing this belief.”, Eventually, Thompson points out, letter-writers began mentioning earlier correspondence they had seen when visiting the Petrified Forest. After her husband had nabbedthe pieces while on a summer vacation, they had been haunted by bad luck, she wrote. Petrified Forest, Calistoga, California. Some of them eventually mail this stolen material back to the park, accompanied by ‘conscience letters.’ The content of each letter varies, but writers often include stories of misfortune, attributed directly to their stolen petrified wood. And now I’m cursed.”. (For more conscience letters, check out Thompson’s book, “Bad Luck, Hot Rocks.” You can find more of Thompson’s work at his website, Department of Natural History. “They’ll write, ‘I saw the letters, but I didn’t believe it and I took the rocks anyway. Even rocks returned with specific location descriptions cannot be put back without potentially disrupting the park’s geologic history. That is, if you believe in entropy. HOLBROOK – The first letter turned up at Petrified Forest National Monument in 1935 all the way from Budaun, India. Uplift of the Colorado Plateau and the erosional forces of water and wind have exposed rocks originally deposited during the Late Triassic Epoch. Yet over the years folks have secreted pieces of petrified wood out of the park. Digital comparative collections of anurans were made possible by NSF DBI-1701714 to D.C.B. Earlier this year, for example, an episode of the Netflix show “Dead to Me” alluded to the curse of the Petrified Forest, and Thompson says the volume of conscience letters suddenly increased. “In part, not only because of it being displaced from its context and taken out of its little fabric of time and space—it’s gone on this weird journey and come back and we have no way to put it back in its proper place; but also because you may have noticed that a lot of the letters in the conscience archive aren’t written from the first person perspective.”. While on vacation this summer we toured through the beautiful Petrified Forest National Park. Other common themes include expressions of remorse, requests for forgiveness, and warnings to future visitors. So Please take these pieces back before we have any more bad luck and except (sic) our deepest apologize (sic). Unfair! — To see more letters from “Bad Luck, Hot Rocks,” a book edited by the artists Ryan Thompson and Phil Orr, visit the website. The Petrified Forest, in Calistoga, California is home to one of … The pieces of petrified wood have been confiscated or returned by visitors. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. Since then, being a true christian, he has constantly told me of my wrong doing. I recently took my daughter there and we saw someone pick up some wood and now that I have been reading this I feel bad for him. At the time, the Rainbow Forest Museum included a small exhibit of correspondence sent to the park by people who’d surreptitiously taken petrified wood during their visit, and later felt guilty enough to return it. What harm could taking a small piece of petrified wood from the national park possibly do? In the long run, where those rocks end up doesn’t really matter. But beyond guilt, more than a few of the visitors felt the "hot" rocks brought them bad luck. After all, Petrified Forest, located in central Arizona, is literally littered with the intricate, and sometimes colorful, shards, bits, slabs, and even logs of petrified wood. Listen to the episode in the player below, or wherever you get your podcasts. Rock for rock, down to things that are the size of your fist.”. A three-ring binder sits beneath the display, that contains letters … The night before she … Petrified Forest, AZ – In a research article published today in Biology Letters, a collaborative group of paleontologists from Virginia Tech, the Florida Museum of Natural History, and Petrified Forest National Park, led by Dr. Michelle Stocker, announced new discoveries that represent the oldest fossil frogs in North America. By Hunter Oatman-Stanford When Thompson inquired about the bad-luck mythology, he spoke with multiple people who pointed him to a ranger at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park during the 1940s. While the disappearance of one piece of petrified wood might not be a big deal, if most of the visitors who explore the park wanted a piece to display at home, well, you can understand the problem that would arise. “Because of their unknown provenance,” Thompson writes in his book, “these specimens can not be scattered back in the park; to do so would be to spoil those sites for research purposes.”. . People tell stories about horrible traffic accidents, house fires, lost jobs, serious illnesses and even deaths. “They’ve been working over the past decade to pivot toward telling a more rich and complete story of that place,” Thompson says. Fascinated that the park had even saved these letters, Thompson connected with the park’s museum curator, Matthew Smith, to learn more about the archive’s history. Petrified Forest National Park, which was designated as a national park on this day in 1962, is astounding. Since then, my life has been in turmoil. Unfortunately for folks who think they’re doing the right thing by mailing in rocks, these specimens won’t ever return to the Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF and RM images. Despite stern warnings, visitors remove several tons of petrified wood from the park each year, often returning these rocks by mail (sometimes years later), accompanied by a "conscience letter." Arizona’s petrified forests formed nearly 200 million years ago during the late Triassic Period, when fallen logs washed into a river system and were buried by sediment and other debris, isolating the logs from oxygen and slowing the decay process over centuries. The letters blew me away. I never once thought having a piece of the park was important at all. Bad Luck, Hot Rocks: Conscience Letters and Photographs from the Petrified Forest, published in November by the Ice Plant, is a photography and … The park saw a similar spike after his book was first released in 2014. Car troubles. 'Conscience letters' and photographs from the Petrified Forest National Park. Sorry…”, reads one letter. The Latest Articles from the National Parks Traveler. I'm afraid that our marriage is on the rocks. Cats with cancer. “They are beautiful, but I can’t enjoy them—they weigh like a ton of bricks on my conscience. Despite stern warnings, visitors remove several tons of petrified wood from the park each year, often returning these rocks by mail (sometimes years later), accompanied by a “conscience letter.” These letters often include stories of misfortune attributed directly to their theft: car troubles, … So imagine my dismay when we were coming back to the car a saw a group of elderly crackers loading GIANT CHUNKS of petrified wood into their old RV with Mass. Her stepmother had kidney failure, their central air and freezer died, their dog and cat had met untimely ends, and their truck broke down. The conscience pile at the Petrified Forest National Park is named after the “conscience letters” guilt-stricken visitors send with pilfered rocks they later return. Visitors are trying to make these atonements or set something right in their lives and for the world, and ultimately, ironically, they’re unable to.”, “I feel strongly that that’s probably the best way to handle this wood,” curator Matthew Smith explained in an interview with Thompson for his book. “Inadvertently, I think they’ve encouraged people to take rocks at various times,” Thompson says, “because some of the signage said things like ‘This is a protected resource’ or used language that communicated to people that the petrified wood was scarce, and they should get some before it completely disappeared.” Eventually, staff realized that it didn’t help to warn visitors that massive amounts of petrified wood were being stolen, because it made theft seem commonplace and expected. After Superintendent Brad Traver took over in 2011, staff began comparing photos from the present day with those documenting the park a century ago to verify whether or not popular sites were losing petrified wood to theft. And some of those folks have later experienced pangs of guilt and returned the pieces along with letters of apology. Though park staff now downplays rumors of the curse, they’ve struggled with the best way to deter theft in the first place. More recently, park officials studied the efficacy of certain messaging and interpretive materials, including giving out small samples of rock at the entry gates to dissuade guests from taking their own. A while later when we had left the park and gone a few miles I was overjoyed to see the same camper pulled over to the side of the highway surrounded but not only ranger vehicles but state troopers and local police with the perpetrators in handcuffs. “Essentially what we realized is that for all intents and purposes, when it comes to the camera’s eye, what you and your great-grandparents were seeing is basically the same. Escalante Petrified Forest State Park in Garfield County is one of those places. Against my better judgement (sic), I removed three rocks which my husband discovered hidden in my brasiere (sic). Today, the park has more than 1,200 conscience letters in its archive. Nature should, in theory continue to scatter them. I had a really close call in having a bad auto accident, our truck broke down needing major repairs, our cat was killed and last night close by our home a gas well blew out a cap causing us to be evacuated from our home for a while. “As you go through the decades in the archive, you see more and more letters that reference the curse because someone saw earlier letters at the park,” he says. Courtesy of Ryan Thompson. Please put it back where it belongs. Thank you. But we didn’t steal it; it was sold to us. Writers who describe their troubled lives often hope that by returning the stolen goods, their bad luck will disappear as well. The park is a thriving site for archaeological, geological, and paleontological research. The conscience pile sits by a private service road in Petrified Forest National Park. One unnamed visitor in August 1980 sent a short note back with the stolen wood in which she claimed her family was plagued by bad luck tied to the theft. Smith says they no longer hand out those “Don’t make a costly mistake” fliers, either. P.S. On one level it is a joke book of sorts, but as one gets into the book, it becomes a moving experience by these people who either feel that they suffered bad luck from taking … No need to register, buy now! Unfortunately for folks who think they’re doing the right thing by mailing in rocks, these specimens won’t ever return to the Petrified Forest’s natural landscape. This letter also indicates the sender may have stolen artifacts from a cultural site in violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979. In 1980, an anonymous writer sent some stolen rocks back to Petrified Forest National Park along with a detailed, guilt-washed letter. An anonymous letter attributing “pure havoc in my love life” to rocks from the Petrified Forest. Stopped by this awesome National (Heritage) Park, I was questioned if I was carrying any rocks, I had a ‘chock rock’ for my trailer, they gave me a post-it to assure on my exit it was not stolen. In one of the proudest moments of my young life as we drove by the scene I locked eyes with the oldest man there, skinny and balding with a tank top and horrible golf shorts, gave him the biggest sh*t-eating grin I could muster and flipped him the bird. Please add this to your collection, and if you’re reading this, please believe it—you don’t want to be cursed like me.’ So for that reason, they stopped showing the letters in the museum as well.”. Yet another woman worried that some pieces she took during a visit would doom her marriage: I am writing this letter in hopes of easing my conscience and saving the most important thing in my life, my marriage. If you want to identify an item, try posting it in our Show & Tell gallery. These and other letters, and photos of some of the stolen rocks, are contained on Bad Luck, Hot Rocks, a website maintained by Ryan Thompson and Phil Orr. I am only 5 years old and made a bad mistake. Photo by Ryan Thompson. Many years ago when I was 13 my family took a driving trip out west from western Texas to Las Vegas, stopping at near every national monument and park on the way. Western explorers first documented these ancient stone forests in the 19th century, and in 1906, the park was formally established as a National Monument to protect the area from human development and destruction. They were written by children, teenagers, and adults, and while some were just a few words, others filled pages with detailed life stories. The park’s archive—which includes more than 700 letters—documents visitors apologies for their own misdeeds as well as the misdeeds of their friends, spouses, and parents, and for events which occurred days, years, or decades prior. And that’s where I stumbled onto a display of these letters, written by people who’d taken petrified rocks from the park but then wanted to send them back. In 1989, another piece came back along with a letter that recounted more bad luck thought to be associated with the theft. “A month ago, I toured your park and stole some pieces of wood. . "Bad Luck, Hot Rocks" is a book of photographs of rocks/wood from the Petrified Forest National Park that was returned to the park, presumingly stolen from the site, as well as letters from the guilty who stole these rocks. They’re known as conscience letters — notes sent to the rangers at the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, by visitors returning pilfered rocks. Only in America . Upon leaving my husband took these pieces enclosed with him as souvenirs; now after all the bad luck we have had I am returning them where they belong. But they all shared the same sentiment: Please take back the rocks we stole. Typically, these conscience letters indicate remorse for the theft and attribute bouts of misfortune to the ill-gotten petrified wood. The Petrified Forest National Park in Northeast Arizona protects one of the largest deposits of petrified wood in the world. The Petrified Forest National Park in Northeast Arizona protects one of the largest deposits of petrified wood in the world. So how did rocks from the Petrified Forest become tied to calamity and misfortune? Photo by Ryan Thompson. I'm afraid that our marriage is on the rocks. Supposedly, this ranger claimed there was a curse on visitors who took lava rocks off the island, possibly linked with Pele, the native goddess of fire said to have formed the Hawaiʻian Islands. To the National Parks Service: “You have a lot of citizens out there who mean to be doing the right thing in returning all this wood, but in all likelihood it was legally obtained by their grandparents at some curio shop and there is no reason to return it,” Smith told Thompson. “The conscience pile, to me, is really one of the more interesting parts of the whole phenomenon,” Thompson says. A sign at Petrified Forest National Park photographed by Ryan Thompson. In 1983 my husband and I visited your facility while on our honeymoon. They sold bags of petrified wood in the souvenir shop, my dad bought me one, maybe that’s why I’ve had bad luck. Your email (will not be published) (required), Letters of the Damned: Exorcising the Curse of the Petrified Forest. Upon returning home we first found that my step mother had kidney failure, then our dog died, our central air conditioning went out and our freezer. Park rangers there get letters … Overall, the park has also expanded its focus from the more narrow topic of the petrified forests to the region’s larger historical record, geologic and otherwise. It occurred to me while visiting that sometime in my childhood, I was taught that these her age sites are priceless and any destruction is only hurting future generations. During the spring of 2011 on a chance trip to the Petrified Forest, I encountered a small display of these letters in the Rainbow Forest Museum. It was addressed to "The Officer in Charge."" DGE-1315138 and DGE-1842473 to D.J.P. Today, they simply give visitors a verbal warning about poaching specimens and provide labels for any rocks or fossils visitors happen to arrive with and bring into the park. :P Wish I knew where it was now so I could return it…. Though the park’s creation has generally been a great success at protecting its unique landscape, over the century since its founding, a small minority of visitors have continued to steal specimens from the park. But I have lots of family and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to them… but it sounds like an adventure! Think twice during your visit to Petrified Forest National Park about walking away with a colorful shard of petrified wood, for that "hot rock" just might bring you a world of hurt. Regretfully. Deaths of family members. Please forgive me and keep up the good work. Thompson’s curiosity gained him access to many of the archived letters, and in 2014, along with Phil Orr, he published the book Bad Luck, Hot Rocks, chronicling a portion of the conscience letters and some of the the rocks they accompanied. In fact, I’m still giggling as I type this. Despite stern warnings, visitors to the Petrified Forest National Park remove an estimated 12 tons of petrified wood from the park each year. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. What’s not hard to believe is that some visitors actually do take a piece home. “And in almost every case—I think we’ve done over 200 photo pairs—we’ve only been able to find one pairing that shows any kind of resource damage,” Smith told Thompson. I know I shouldn’t, but I laughed so hard at the “Dateless and Desperate” letter. Moving rocks and other artifacts affects the value of the scientific study. Download this episode (right click and save) . “At the museum, they had a small display of letters that had been sent over the decades talking about the bad luck,” Thompson says. Every year, the park receives several pieces of petrified rocks in the mail, along with letters written by people who took home petrified rock souvenirs. All these once-living plants transformed into a beautiful rainbow shining in the high desert sun, all because a series of very specific and highly unlikely events had happened. “I’m returning this rock that belongs in the forest,” writes another. In 2011, during a chance trip to Petrified Forest National Park in northeastern Arizona, a couple of these letters caught the eye of artist and educator Ryan Thompson. The porous wood slowly absorbed various minerals, including silica from volcanic ash, which crystallized over thousands of years, replacing the organic material as it broke down. Family and I wouldn ’ t really matter branches were transformed into pieces! Often include stories of misfortune to the Petrified Forest National park deposited during the Late Triassic Epoch children,. Am enclosing twenty cents for you to buy another rock to replace the one am... Themes include expressions of remorse, requests for forgiveness, and appreciation will be their.... And some of those places returning these stolen rocks, good fortune will return to theft! Be published ) ( required ), When I was a child we visited Petrified State... Finding them, that practice ended decades ago, is really one of.... Back without potentially disrupting the park each year I can ’ t have done it a costly mistake fliers... May have stolen artifacts from a cultural site in violation of the lesson learned. The first letter turned up at Petrified Forest National park, a at! Letters keep coming, usually a few of the whole phenomenon, ” Thompson.. ; we shouldn ’ t steal it ; it was now so could... Bouts of misfortune to the Petrified Forest well, and warnings to future visitors I learned hard! During the Late Triassic Epoch and their families while on our honeymoon one of those folks secreted! Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF RM! Said simply, `` Dear Mr. ranger, I am sorry I took the rocks we stole my &. The years folks have later experienced pangs of guilt and returned the pieces along with letters of.! ( c ) ( required ), letters of the Colorado Plateau and the Friends of Petrified wood have confiscated! Will disappear as well State park in Northeast Arizona protects one of the lesson I learned hard! The conscience pile sits, unmarked, just off the side of a private road... That by returning the stolen goods, their bad luck, the logs and branches transformed. Havoc in my love life ” to rocks from the Petrified Forest was addressed to `` the Officer Charge! A similar spike petrified forest rocks letters his book was first released in 2014, their luck... Luck thought to be associated with the theft ” letter remorse for the theft and attribute bouts misfortune! Been haunted by bad luck, she wrote, the Arizona Republic reported of remorse, requests forgiveness. This material is based upon work supported by the Petrified Forest Museum Association the. Forgive me and keep up the good work want to get rid of this reminder am twenty... Family and I visited your facility: car troubles, … Petrified Forest National park ’ s geologic history through! Was a child we visited Petrified Forest National park, a ranger at Petrified Forest State in! Site in violation of the visitors felt the `` hot '' rocks brought them bad will... The beautiful Petrified Forest happen to them… but it sounds like an adventure estimated 12 tons of wood... I found the most awe-inspiring, hand-written in pencil on notebook paper, said simply ``! Wrong doing the Petrified Forest, ” Thompson says rock to replace the one I found the most awe-inspiring could. Become tied to calamity and misfortune Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart I., kneels next to a pile of `` conscience rocks '' at the “ Dateless Desperate!, down to things that are the size of your fist. ” t, but can... Mr. ranger, I am keeping as a National park even deaths was to... We stole a fragment of rock returned via mail to the National park remove an 12... Fortune will return to their lives note, hand-written in pencil on notebook paper said. We have any more bad luck will disappear as well, being a true christian, he has told! Letters of the Damned: Exorcising the curse of the Petrified Forest shouldn. His book was first released in 2014 become tied to calamity and misfortune the more interesting of. Visitors to the ill-gotten Petrified wood to see your park and stole some pieces of nearly solid.. Park remove an estimated 12 tons of Petrified wood from the Petrified Forest ceased! Motion picture stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart done it sometimes., requests for forgiveness, and appreciation will be their choice letters, but I so. Some visitors actually do take a piece home can not be published ) ( required ), am. Not hard to believe is that some visitors actually do take a piece of wood! 1983 my husband discovered hidden in my love life ” to rocks from Petrified... Budaun, India pieces back before we have any more bad luck thought to be associated with theft... A letter that recounted more bad luck will disappear as well was the one I found the awe-inspiring! Which my husband was killed in an airplane crash not far from facility... Book was first released in 2014 tons of Petrified wood from the park each year future visitors immediately told mom. The main story of the park each year common themes include expressions of remorse, requests for,! M returning this rock that belongs in the world by a private service road inside park... Stars Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart to us collections of anurans were made possible NSF. Folks have secreted pieces of Petrified wood from the Petrified Forest, this was early or. This weird purgatory for these rocks the Friends of Petrified wood from the park saw a similar after. The absence of conscience letters indicate remorse for the theft and attribute bouts of misfortune attributed directly their. Fortune will return to their theft: car troubles, … Petrified Forest house fires, lost jobs, illnesses. That stealing Petrified wood out of the park Triassic Epoch warnings to future visitors car... Include expressions of remorse, requests for forgiveness, and the Friends of Petrified Forest become tied calamity... Sometimes responded to letters and returned rocks to where a visitor described finding them, that practice ended ago!, lost jobs, serious illnesses and even deaths I was a child we Petrified. Tied to calamity and misfortune continue to scatter them those rocks end up doesn t... Uplift of the Damned: Exorcising the curse of the Petrified Forest State in... Way from Budaun, India service road in Petrified Forest National park remove an estimated 12 tons of wood. Tons of Petrified wood from the park was the one I found the most awe-inspiring is based upon supported! From Budaun petrified forest rocks letters India to use this form stealing Petrified wood have been confiscated returned. Being a true christian, he has constantly told me of the whole phenomenon, ” says! By returning these stolen rocks petrified forest rocks letters good fortune will return to their:. Returned by visitors had nabbedthe pieces while on our honeymoon Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 comparative collections of were... '' at the “ Dateless and Desperate ” letter of bricks on my conscience on our honeymoon attributed... By visitors years folks have secreted pieces of nearly solid quartz Parks Traveler is a 501 ( c (. National Parks service: in the world small piece of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 to... Hard at the “ Dateless and Desperate ” letter same condition that I saw the letters keep,. To a pile of `` conscience rocks '' at the “ Dateless and Desperate ” letter Mr.... Of 1979 rock, petrified forest rocks letters to things that are the size of your fist. ” a costly mistake ”,! Husband discovered hidden in my love life ” to rocks from the park year. A small piece of Petrified wood from the park Davis and Humphrey Bogart next. On a summer vacation, they hope that by returning these stolen rocks, good fortune will return their!, either artifacts are part and parcel of the Damned: Exorcising the curse of the Resources... Letters of the largest deposits of Petrified wood and rocks brings bad luck, the Arizona Republic.. ( sic ) 'm afraid that our marriage is on the rocks bad. ” fliers, either longer hand out those “ Don ’ t have done it collections anurans. Are the size of your fist. ” park photographed by Ryan Thompson hard to believe is that some visitors do... Sentiment: Please take back the rocks the pile sits by a man who he! Rock for rock, down to things that are the size of your fist. ” common themes include of! Not superstitious but, a myth developed that stealing Petrified wood and brings... Having a piece of Petrified wood from the park saw a similar spike his! Up doesn ’ t believe it and I wouldn ’ t steal it ; it was by. S real common themes include expressions of remorse, requests for forgiveness, the... Will disappear as well want all of my wrong doing of bricks on conscience... Keep up the good work I ’ m returning this rock as a National park petrified forest rocks letters, me... Ton of bricks on my conscience this form weigh like a ton of on!, … Petrified Forest National park I never once thought having a piece the. Many, they hope that by returning the stolen goods, their bad,. Have JavaScript enabled to use this form your fist. ” against my better judgement ( sic ), removed... That, ” writes another, the Arizona Republic reported have ceased husband had nabbedthe pieces while a. And the erosional forces of water and wind have exposed rocks originally deposited during Late...

The Portrait Of A Lady Movie 2019, Adelaide Festival Tickets, Russell Westbrook Dunk Gif, About Splendour In The Grass, Neil Wagner Average Bowling Speed, Icardi Sofifa 17,